


In Seconds

by fembuck



Category: Spartacus Series (TV), Spartacus: War of the Damned
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Established Relationship, F/F, Femslash, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-07 14:51:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fembuck/pseuds/fembuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saxa and Belesa are on location in France, covering an address being made by the President of the United States. It’s supposed to be a routine assignment, but while Belesa is in the field, shots are fired and a bomb goes off, creating chaos and leaving Saxa in fear for the life of the woman she loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Seconds

**Author's Note:**

> The story is set in a **newsroom au** where Saxa is the producer of a news program that Belesa works on as an on-air correspondent.

“Alright, Bel.  We’re almost ready for you.  Can I get a check?” Saxa said distractedly into the microphone in front of her before she turned her head to accept a note from central.  “Why am I not hearing anything?” she asked, looking up from the piece of paper in her hands.  “Where’s my check?” she continued when the sound of Belesa’s voice didn’t fill up the van.  “She has got sound, hasn’t she?”

“The equipment’s fine,” Donar called out.  “Checked and rechecked.  I’m not sure what the issue is …”

“Well take your time,” Saxa interjected impatiently.  “It’s not like we’re supposed to cut to her in a minute or anything.”

“I’m on it.  I’m on it,” Donar replied, and Saxa breathed out deeply and reached up to massage the bridge of her nose.

“Do we have that mini-bio…”

“Cued,” Sibyl replied before Saxa could finish her question.

“Good.  Donar?”

“Almost…” Donar breathed out slowly, “got it…” he continued, “now!  She’s good.”

<<<…ello?!?!  Hello!?!?  Would I still be saying ‘hello’ if there had been a response from them?   I don’t know, Mark.  I don’t know.  Maybe if I click my heels three times it’ll transport me back to the va…>>>

“We can hear you now,” Saxa cut in, interrupting Belesa’s chat with her cameraman.  “Cut the sarcasm.  No time for a check.  We’re live in, 5, 4, 3, 2...”

<<< ...Thank you, Agron. I’m Belesa Garin, standing just inside Place de la Concorde in Paris, where a large crowd as gathered to witness what promises to be a landmark summit.>>>

“Bring up the crowd shots,” Saxa directed.

<<<Over the next four days, President McIntyre will be meeting with leaders from all of the European Union countries in an effort to bring the continents together in the ongoing war against terror.>>>

“Tell us what the mood is down there, Bel,” Saxa said, leaning into the microphone as her eyes remained locked on the monitor where Belesa’s image shone brightly.

<<<The mood of the crowd gathered here is hopeful >> Belesa continued without missing a beat.  <<Certainly everyone here is sympathetic to those who lost loved ones in the recent attacks.  I have, however, spoken to delegates from two countries who have taken a hardline…>>

“What’s she doing?” Saxa asked incredulously, speaking to no one in particular as Belesa began to trample over the approved script.

<<< …stating that the US Foreign Policy has to bear some of the responsibility for…>>>

“Motherfu … shut her down!” Saxa called out, as she glared at the monitor that was filled with Belesa’s image.  “Now!” she added, even as Donar spoke quickly into his microphone making the necessary arrangements.

“Agron’s up in … 3, 2 …” Donar began to count down.

<<< ...that’s great. Thanks, Belesa. You’ll have to keep us informed.  With me now is …>>>

As Agron continued speaking on monitor 5, Saxa reached out and switched off her desk mic, pressed a few buttons on the board in front of her, and then picked up her headset and put it on.

"What the hell was that?” she hissed into the mouthpiece.

“News,” Belesa responded, her words only audible to Saxa now that the blonde had switched to the headset.   “The whole world isn’t actually in love with us, you know.”

“This isn’t a TED talk, angel.  We’re not here for you to wax on about geopolitics.  We have talking points.  Stick to them,” Saxa replied as Sibyl approached her and handed her a phone. 

Saxa took the phone from her and pressed it to her chest before she cupped her free hand around her mouthpiece in an attempt to speak to Belesa with a bit more privacy. 

“I’m about to get my ass handed to me for that little stunt,” she breathed out, and on the monitor she could see Belesa dip her head down apologetically.  “You know I understand where you’re coming from, but central is not pleased.  I can only take so much of the heat before the flames start reaching around me to you.  We’ve got our story.  Stick it.  You’re not going to win your war by getting yanked out of the field.”

“Fine,” Belesa relented, temporarily, knowing that over coms in the middle of the story they were covering wasn’t the time or the place to get into an argument with Saxa over censorship. “But you’re going to hear about this later.”

“Don’t I know it,” Saxa replied, smiling a little despite herself.  “Be good.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Saxa?” Belesa teased.

“Standby,” Saxa breathed out, wishing she had time to keep talking to Belesa, but knowing that she didn’t.  “We’re leading with Camera A,” Saxa called out as she ripped the headset off and turned on her desk mic once again.  “In 5, 4, 3, 2…”

Saxa lifted the phone that had been pressed against chest up to her ear.  “Sorry for the delay Gaius,” Saxa began.  “Yeah, I know.  I told her.  Gaius, I told her that.  She’s been informed…”

xxx

_Saxa grunted as her back connected with the door of the suite, and then again as the weight of her body forced the door closed.  Belesa stepped further into her body then, pressing the blonde forcefully against the door as her lips moved against Saxa’s with an ardent impatience that made Saxa’s blood pound._

" _Bed," Saxa gasped as Belesa’s lips moved down to kiss and nip at her jaw._

_Belesa's hands began to trail up Saxa’s thighs, pushing the blonde’s skirt up as they went, bunching it at her waist._

_"No," Belesa murmured against Saxa’s neck. “Here,” she husked as her hand slipped between Saxa’s thighs, her fingers immediately pressing against the expensive and quickly dampening material of Saxa’s panties.  “Can’t wait,” she panted before her lips covered Saxa’s once more, kissing her hotly._

_"Then don't," Saxa breathed out against Belesa’s lips, her hips bucking into the brunette’s hand, Belesa’s tone and insistence arousing her greatly.  She could feel the dampness between her legs. She knew that she was more than ready for Belesa and the idea of being taken against the hotel room door made the bed seem much too far away for her as well._

_Saxa’s thigh lifted, wrapping around Belesa’s waist as the brunette pushed the material of Saxa’s underwear to the side and slipped inside of her, biting down on her lip as her fingers were enveloped by Saxa’s warmth._

_"So good,” Belesa panted as she began to explore Saxa, the blonde’s leg coiling around her more tightly as she arched her hips towards Belesa.  “Beautiful,” she whispered as Saxa’s head tipped back, thudding dully against the back of the door and exposing the long length of her neck to Belesa’s eager mouth._

_And it was._

_Twice._

 

xxx

“Get somebody out there,” Saxa said, her eyes trained on the one blank monitor on a wall full of them; her eyes trained on the dark square where Belesa’s motionless, bloodied image had been glowing brightly a moment before.

Saxa knew she was speaking, but she didn’t recognize her own voice.  The words that trickled through the TWT van were dull and faint as if reaching her ears from a great distance.  Her voice cracked as she spoke, and then retreated from her entirely for a moment, leaving her breathless and dizzy. 

“I said _someone get out there_!” Saxa managed to choke out when nobody moved, a touch of threat in her voice as she ripped her eyes away from the screen and turned to look at the faces surrounding her.

“She’s …” Sibyl started to say, though she bit off her response before the word ‘dead’ could fall from her lips when Saxa’s icy blue eyes zeroed onto her. 

“Lugo!” Saxa called out, looking away from Sibyl to face the burliest of her sound guys. 

When her eyes found his, Lugo nodded. 

“Go,” Saxa said urgently.

He went.

Saxa braced her hands on the desk in front of her and hunched over, her head falling down as she struggled to calm her breathing and her mind.

This wasn’t supposed to be happening.  This was supposed to be easy; it was supposed to be a paid vacation.  They were supposed to come in, get some inspiring shots of the crowds in France, give some background information on the history of the conflicts at the center of the talks, and exalt the President’s vision and the monumental nature of the peace summit.  They were supposed to get some shots of him on the podium looking commanding and impressive, and then celebrate a job well done at one of the local bars before she and Belesa retreated back to the hotel and Saxa’s room (which was really ‘their’ room) where they would order a bottle of champagne and do some naked celebrating of their own.

Two shots were _not_ supposed to be fired from the window of a building that had supposedly been cleared hours before.  She was not supposed to watch her lover struggling to keep herself together so that she could continue her report while bombs went off around her.  She was not supposed to have seen Belesa lying motionless on the ground, covered in blood and dust after a bomb went off so close to them that it rocked the van and made the sky go dark with soot and debris. 

Getting Belesa to stay on script was supposed to be the most trying thing Saxa had to deal with.

“Saxa!”

Saxa closed her eyes.  Her head was still spinning.  There was too much noise.  She couldn’t think.  Her heart was racing and her stomach kept clenching, making her feel like she was going to be sick. 

“Saxa!”

She’d just had a late breakfast with Belesa.  The brunette had eaten half of her ham and cheese croissant and when she had complained about it, Belesa had smiled wickedly and promised to make it up to her later that night.

“Saxa!  Goddammit!”

Saxa jerked her head back, away from the loud sounds being projected at her from directly in front of her face.

“What?” she asked irritably as she blinked, trying to get whoever was standing in front of her in focus.

“I know,” Sibyl began loudly.  She paused and forced herself to gentle her tone.  “I know that you’re worried about her,” she began again.  “I understand,” she continued gently, as Saxa blinked at her wetly. 

Saxa and Belesa had been discreet about their relationship, but they worked with people whose livelihoods revolved around noticing and investigating details, which meant that their romance hadn’t been a secret around the newsroom for quite some time.  Seeing Belesa lying on the ground like that had been a shock to everyone, but for Saxa it was so much worse.

“I’m sorry,” Sibyl continued softly, “But … we’re getting calls from central.  Cameras 2, 3, 5, and 4 are still operational.  They want footage.”

“Footage,” Saxa repeated, her voice soft as a whisper, as she blinked over at Sibyl.  “Belesa…” she started to say, but Sibyl cut her off.

“You sent Lugo to her.  He’ll find her.  If she’s still …”

Saxa’s eyes locked on Sibyl with the razor sharp clarity that they had been lacking since the explosion, and Sibyl involuntarily took a step back and swallowed nervously before continuing.

“No matter what, he’ll get her somewhere safe,” she went on, shifting uncomfortably as Saxa continued to stare at her unblinkingly.  “You know he will.  But you’re not gonna have a job in the morning if you don’t tell those cameramen where to go.  Central is going ape-shit.”

Saxa breathed in and out deeply and then nodded her head.  Sibyl was right.  She had a job to do and she needed to do it.  Lugo was quick, and strong, and loved Belesa like a sister.  He’d find her.  He’d find her and he’d help her.  He’d carry her to the nearest hospital on his back if he had to.  Saxa knew that.  She believed that.  Lugo would do what he had to, and she needed to do the same.

Saxa sat back down in her chair and dragged her microphone towards her.  “Camera 2,” she began a bit shakily, “Get a panning shot of the courtyard.  Camera 5 … I want you on the streets in front of the square.  Camera 3, locate the secret service and get as close to them as you can.  Camera 4,” she continued, her voice having finally regained its usual command.  “Camera 4?” she repeated when nothing met her earpiece but static.  “Camera … what’s happening with Camera 4?  I thought you said it was operational.”

The van erupted in movement the moment Saxa started speaking and the tight space began to vibrate with the sound of loudly talking voices. 

Saxa closed her eyes again and focused on breathing.  She had to stay calm.  She had to stay focused. Lugo would make it to Belesa and when he did he’d discover that she had just been knocked unconscious.  Belesa would be okay.  She had to believe that.  She had to.  In order to keep moving, in order to keep breathing, she had to believe that Belesa was okay.

Saxa stood and moved towards the workstation to her left.

“What’s the status on Camera 4?” Saxa asked, leaning over Donar’s shoulder to see the screens on display in front of him.

“Still no contact with Roberts or Perez, but the camera is operational.  We think that maybe…”

xxx

" _So I was thinking,” Belesa began lifting her head from where it had been resting on Saxa’s chest, propping herself up so that she could see Saxa’s face._

_Saxa groaned and Belesa smacked her on the hip._

_“I was thinking,” Belesa continued, glaring playfully at Saxa as the blonde smiled, “that we should go to Barcelona for a few days after the summit.  We’ve got the rest of the week off and I’ve never been to Spain before.  Not to mention it’ll be nice to be alone for once, instead of two floors up from our nearest and noisiest coworkers.”_

_"A real vacation?” Saxa asked looking up into Belesa’s hopeful face._

_“A short one, but yes,” Belesa responded softly, her eyes focused intently on Saxa’s face._

_“All alone,” Saxa murmured._

_“All alone,” Belesa confirmed leaning down to kiss her._

_“People will talk,” Saxa said, watching Belesa closely, “If we’re spotted alone together in Spain, miles away from the nearest TWT van.”_

_It was an aspect of their relationship that was always at the back of their minds but that they rarely talked about out loud.  Saxa wasn’t really Belesa’s boss, but she was higher on the totem pole.  If their relationship became widely known, it wouldn’t have much of an effect on Saxa’s career.  She was already respected and established.  Her body of work would stand for itself.  But Belesa, she was relatively new to the news game, and rumors about her sleeping her way on camera – no matter how erroneous they were – could seriously damage her career._

_“The entire newsroom already knows.  And, you know, eventually someone will drunkenly mention it at a dinner party, or a fan with a twitter account will see us making a midnight IHOP run or someone will tag a picture of us holding hands on Instagram,” Belesa responded shrugging lightly.  “I’m tired of worrying about it.  I want to go away with you.  If people talk, so be it.”_

_She’d been thinking about making the switch to printed news anyway.  She found being on air frustrating and confining almost all of the time, and she wanted the opportunity to voice the truth without the constant threat of having her mic turned off if she said something the network didn’t approve of._

_“Harlem Jazz Club,” Saxa breathed out._

_“What?” Belesa asked, her eyebrows knitting together in the most adorable way._

_It made her look impossibly precious, and if Saxa hadn’t been completely and madly in love with her already, that smile would have made her fall and kept her falling forever._

_“It’s a smoky, old dive in Barcelona,” Saxa responded smiling._

_She wasn’t going to ask Belesa if she was sure, she respected her too much for that.  Belesa was young, but she was fiercely intelligent and one of the most strategic thinkers that Saxa had ever met.  Belesa never did anything without thinking it through.  If she asked, she was sure._

_“It’s the best spot in town for jazz music and strong drinks.”_

_Belesa smiled widely as she brushed her thumb against Saxa’s cheek, and then she leaned down and kissed the blonde happily._

_“We have to go to Farrutx,” Belesa said excitedly when she pulled back, still grinning._

_“Of course we do,” Saxa said knowing that there was no way Belesa was going to pass up Barcelona’s answer to Manolo Blannik._

_“What else?” Belesa asked settling herself back down against Saxa’s side, her head resting on the blonde’s shoulder as she wrapped her arm around her waist contentedly._

_“Oh, I don’t know,” Saxa said allowing her eyes to drift up to the ceiling lazily as she luxuriated in the feel of Belesa’s body snuggled against her own.  “We could s_ _tart with the Barri Gòtic, I guess.  From there we could wander down La Rambla …”_

 

 

 xxx

Saxa took a deep, shuddering breath, blinking rapidly as her eyes burned with tears that she was trying to keep from falling.  Her hand trembled as she reached out, her fingers brushing tentatively against the white bandage wrapped around Belesa’s forehead.

Breathing in deeply, Saxa allowed her fingers to ghost along Belesa’s cheek, tracing features that were presently serene in sleep.  She then lowered her eyes to Belesa’s chest, watching it rise and fall steadily, comforting herself with the regular motion.

Belesa was alive.  She was banged up, she had a nasty concussion the doctors wanted to keep an eye on, and she would be on a cocktail of painkillers for a few days, but she was alive and she would make a full recovery.

Saxa was jarred out of her thoughts and found herself blinking rapidly as she tried to figure out what had startled her.  Then she felt Belesa’s hand flutter against her own and realized it must have been for the second time.

“Saxa,” Belesa said coughing, her voice barely audible.  “Sa…” she began again before Saxa took her hand in her own and squeezed it as tightly as she dared.

"Sssh,” Saxa said softly, bending down to press her lips against the back of Belesa’s hand, blinking back tears as she did.  “It’s me, I’m here,” she continued reaching out with her free hand, stroking Belesa’s cheek tenderly.  “The doctor said you should rest.”

“Rest?” Belesa repeated, blinking slowly as if she had never heard the word before.  “Where am … what happened?  My head hurts,” she rasped as she attempted to lift her arm up which resulted in her wincing in pain.  “Arm too,” she managed to wheeze through the pain.

“Be still, angel,” Saxa breathed out, helping Belesa to move her arm back into a relatively comfortable position.  “You need to sleep.”

Belesa’s body was still swimming with drugs which made it difficult for her to keep her thoughts straight, or see anything clearly, but she could make out a fuzzy yellow ball that she was sure was Saxa’s head, so she made up her mind to stare at it irritably until Saxa gave in and answered her question, or she passed out again, whichever came first.

“You’re not serious right now,” Saxa began after about twenty seconds of Belesa staring at her.  “Unbelievable,” she muttered incredulously when Belesa simply continued her hazy staring.  “Go to sleep,” Saxa declared grouchily, even as her lips began to curve up in smile, charmed and relieved to find that Belesa’s injuries hadn’t done anything to her fiery spirit.

“No.  Talk,” Belesa replied militantly, though her gruff tone was somewhat undercut by her starting to blink sleepily.  Her morphine drip had kicked in again, starting her on what was likely to be a rapid trip back to Slumberland.  “What happen…ed?”

Saxa rolled her eyes at Belesa’s drowsy attempt to question her, but made up her mind to give in to Belesa’s demands, even if she would have to explain everything all over again when Belesa was really awake instead of simply experiencing a few moments of lucidity between morphine trips.

“There were shots and then an explosion,” Saxa began.  “It was chaos.  The President went down, everyone started running, secret service was everywhere.  You were near the stage, reporting what you could see … and then a bomb went off,” she continued shakily, unconsciously tightening the hold she had on Belesa’s hand as she spoke.  “You were close.  You were hurt.  Hit by flying debris.”

“Bomb,” Belesa whispered, blinking a few times as her eyebrows knitted together in concern.  “A bomb.  What about … are my parts okay?” she managed to breathe out, even as her eyes started to hood with sleep.

“All accounted for and right where they should be,” Saxa breathed out, smiling down at her love. 

“No bionics required?” Belesa asked.

“No bionics required,” Saxa confirmed, dipping her head down to kiss the back of Belesa’s hand.

“That’s good,” Belesa murmured so faintly her response was almost inaudible. 

A small smile crept onto Saxa’s lips as gazed down at Belesa.  Even doped up and bandaged, the woman was unbelievably adorable, and at the thought, unbidden tears came to Saxa’s eyes.  

She squeezed them tightly shut to fight the shower that threatened to erupt from them, and clutched the edge of the bed in her free hand to stop herself from squeezing Belesa’s hand too hard as her mind tortured her with thoughts of that afternoon and her body aided the torment by reacting with the same paralyzing, desperate, gnawing fear she had felt earlier that day.  

Belesa was alive.  She was already being stubborn and cracking jokes.  Belesa would be okay, but that feeling of despair and dread that had taken over Saxa when she thought she had lost Belesa still existed within her, and had been taking hold of her at strange times through her bedside vigil.

“You’ll be here?” Belesa murmured, eyes still closed, as sleep began to take hold of her once more.

“I’ll be here,” Saxa breathed, bending her head down to Belesa’s hand reverently.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

 

The End


End file.
